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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25299412">Twisted</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Winter_Writer/pseuds/The_Winter_Writer'>The_Winter_Writer</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Apples of Idunn, Canon Divergence - Post-Avengers (2012), Don’t copy to another site, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, Extremis Tony Stark, Jarvis (Iron Man movies) Lives, M/M, Magic, Not Avengers: Age of Ultron (Movie) Compliant, Not Thor: The Dark World Compliant, Not Wanda Friendly, Protective Loki (Marvel), Protectiveness, Secret Relationship, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, proposal, salt liberally sprinkled throughout, warning: contains salt</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 11:46:47</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,597</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25299412</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Winter_Writer/pseuds/The_Winter_Writer</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Tony knew that Loki’s fury wasn’t directed at him by the way the god's familiar, comforting magic continued to lightly caress and assess him. This fury, white-hot and vicious, was directed elsewhere and he almost pitied its target.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Loki/Tony Stark</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>106</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>1138</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Twisted</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Hey all! It's been...awhile. I hope everyone is staying safe.</p><p>I'm trying to drag my writing muse kicking and screaming back into the light. I'm hopeful I can start posting a bit more frequently; it's been quite awhile since I last posted and I dearly love writing.</p><p>There are several things I'm rather salty about when it comes to the MCU and most of them center around Tony (shocking I'm sure). Needless to say AOU left me rather salty (and bitter) regarding Tony's treatment. I wrote most of this awhile back and tried to edit it so I could post it. </p><p>I cherry picked from canon, twisted a few things around (because I can) and gave Tony/Loki some happiness because they deserve it. Those two just get fucked over far too much.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Tony strolled back into the penthouse, exhausted and silently betrayed, as he kicked his shoes off and padded towards the couch with every single intention of face planting. He reached up, yanked the netting off his face and cast it aside without hesitation. Here, here in what had rapidly become his sanctuary away from everything, Tony could be himself without having to wear masks—literally and figuratively.</p><p>He didn’t want to think on the damage floors below him, not right now. There were a lot of things that Tony didn’t want to think about.</p><p>It should be safe <em>here</em>.</p><p>Safe, unlike the compound where he’d been forced to keep up a mask of cheer, understanding and acceptance over one of the single most insulting things he could remember witnessing to date. They didn’t even seem to give a fuck that Bruce had fucking fled, that <em>she</em> had twisted up pretty much everyone’s minds or that the team was clearly a fractured mess that couldn’t possibly keep going the way they had been since they had first come together. It was no small wonder that Thor had fucked off to Asgard the second the shiniest, newest threat had been taken care of.</p><p>Tony had fled shortly after. He wasn’t going to stay to witness the joke of a team that had just been formed at the Avengers Compound—Tony had wanted to drag Rhodey away but he trusted his friend to keep an eye on them.</p><p>It had taken everything in him to cut his losses and leave before he said or did something everyone else would have regretted. They already thought he was some kind of monster; it was more than obvious considering the shit show he’d witnessed prior to Vision’s creation and the wariness they couldn’t quite hide in their eyes when they looked at him. Maybe he was a monster? But the vision he’d witnessed, the cold feeling of failure and loss, still hung in his mind like some kind of shroud heralding the coming death of humanity.</p><p>He shuddered and shoved the vision back—Tony didn’t need more nightmares.</p><p>“Oh, Anthony, what interesting changes you’ve made since I last saw you.” Loki was sprawled out on the very couch Tony had wanted to claim for himself. He almost wanted to pout. “Did you find a —what do they call it here? —oh! A fountain of youth?” there was mischief, amusement, in bright green eyes and Tony felt his lips twitch.</p><p>Tony didn’t even hesitate. He kept up his trajectory and sprawled out on top of Loki without pausing; it wasn’t the first time he’d used someone as a pillow and he doubted it would be the last. Every single muscle in his body went completely lax when the scent of the God of Mischief filled his senses and a soft, content sigh escaped his parted lips. He rested his leg between Loki and the couch while the other remained pressed against the side of Loki’s leather clad thigh where it threatened to dangle off the edge of the couch.</p><p>It was nice, comfortable and exactly what he needed after the clusterfuck he’d just lived through—after the horrible images that continued to persist, taunting him at the edges of his mind.</p><p>“Fucked around with Extremis.” He mumbled the answer against Loki’s soft green tunic. Here he could admit it without a worry about being reprimanded, insulted or belittled for <em>messing with things he didn’t understand.</em> Loki wouldn’t do that. The god <em>understood</em>. It was nice, freeing, to be understood in a way few even bothered to try. “I had too many health issues that were only getting worse. Jarvis predicted my heart wouldn’t be able to take much more if I didn’t do <em>something</em>. This was what I came up with. Got a few interesting upgrades on top of it so I figure it’s kind of a win-win situation.”</p><p>That had been a pain in the ass but, fortunately, Ultron hadn’t figured <em>that</em> out and Tony’s mind had been safe from influence—at least on that front.</p><p>Long, talented fingers carded through his hair. “You only needed to ask, Anthony. I’ve been waiting.”</p><p>“Thought the orchard was near impossible to sneak into.”</p><p>“Not when the entire Realm thinks you’re the Allfather.” Loki’s voice was soft as his fingers continued to move. If Tony was a cat he would be purring at this point. Tony could feel Loki’s magic, warm and familiar and <em>protective</em>, lazily tracing over his body. There wasn’t a question that it was checking him over, looking for injuries, before it lazily moved up towards his head. Loki always started from the bottom and worked to the top all the while taking careful note of anything out of place. He would heal little injuries as he went, taking note and asking after them once he finished his ‘health check’ as Tony teasingly called it. “Collecting a gift for <em>my </em>brilliant mortal and a few spares was the first thing I did after taking on the guise of Odin.”</p><p>“Sap.” He could resist the tease, light and carefree. A grin tugged at his lips when Loki tugged on his hair in response. Tony had needed <em>this</em>, needed safety and comfort, and Loki was always content to give it to him in spades.</p><p>“I’m—” whatever Loki was about to say was cut off by a sharp, enraged <em>hiss</em> that had Tony blinking in confusion. Tony could feel the way Loki’s magic <em>writhed</em> with absolute <em>fury</em>. He knew that Loki’s fury wasn’t directed at him by the way the god's familiar, comforting magic continued to lightly caress and assess him. This fury, white-hot and vicious, was directed elsewhere and he almost pitied its target. “Who <em>dared</em> to harm you? To twist your mind?” something otherworldly, something millennia old, slipped into Loki’s voice in a way it so rarely seemed to as he continued. “<em>Who dared to touch <strong>my</strong> mortal</em>?” sometimes he forgot what Loki <em>was</em>.</p><p>Tony blinked, turned his face and rested his chin on Loki’s chest to look up into furious green eyes that were practically burning with magic and wrath. He wasn’t sure he’d ever seen Loki this angry before but it was terrifying on a level Tony hadn’t thought possible. It was a relief to know he wasn’t the one that kind of rage was directed at. If Loki had come at them, years ago, like <em>this</em> and not a puppet for a Mad Titan it was likely nothing would have survived his attack. As he took in Loki’s face Tony <em>knew</em> he’d never seen Loki like this before. The old saying was that Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned but Tony was pretty sure it was wrong or, at least, should have an amendment added to it: Hell hath no fury like an enraged God of Mischief. Was <em>this</em> what they meant when they talked about the wrath of the ancient gods? The ones who had taken their anger out on mortals centuries ago?</p><p>A normal person would be quaking in fear at that expression but not him. There was nothing to fear when it came to Loki. Not now that Loki’s mind was his own once more and didn’t belong to some monster whose name Loki wouldn’t even breathe. A monster Tony desperately wanted eliminated.</p><p>Loki easily shifted them. Between one blink and the next Tony found himself settled on Loki’s lap, facing his God of Mischief, where they were tucked into the corner of the couch. Fingers reached up and pressed against his temples as Loki’s eyes focused, sharp and clear, and his mouth twisted in displeasure. Tony could feel Loki’s magic winding its way through his mind, careful and searching, as his eyes hooded and something viciously cold filled green eyes. Tony swayed towards Loki when warm magic whispered soft promises of protection and vengeance.</p><p>To know he had the wrath of a god ready to avenge him had warmth blossoming inside of him and the fear, the images lingering in his mind, that had been near constantly whispering at the edges of his mind faded—but only for a moment.</p><p>Loki’s magic touched something inside of him, something that seemed to coil and twist malevolently, as Tony winced and whimpered when a flash of terror shot through him unexpectedly and stole his ability to breathe. This time the vision didn’t show his teammates dead on a rock, hanging in space and overlooking Earth’s impending destruction with Tony as the sole survivor. No, it was <em>worse</em>. It was Loki. Loki with blank, unseeing eyes sprawled out before him and gone where Tony couldn’t follow no matter how much he longed to. It was a different kind of Hell, a different kind of guilt and anguish that burned inside of him. His heart ached, as though it had been torn from his chest and mutilated before being shoved back inside to rot.</p><p>Tears spilled down his cheeks as he dragged in a ragged, choked breath before a sound of pain spilled from his trembling lips. “No.” the word was torn from his throat and filled with agony. “No no no no no no no no.” it <em>wasn’t real</em>, it wasn’t real. He was sitting on Loki’s lap, safe and sound, and not actually witnessing the nightmare in front of him. That thought, that desperate hope he clung to, didn’t help to stop the pain trying its best to strangle him.</p><p>“Shhhh, Anthony. Shhhh.” Whatever else Loki was whispering to him, voice soft and practically cooing at him, Tony couldn’t understand. It was in a language long lost to those from Earth. The language that Loki would slip into when completely lost to pleasure or when he was trying to sooth Tony after a horrific nightmare. The familiar sound of it immediately started to pull him from the newest nightmare vision threatening to twist him up into something unrecognizable.</p><p>He could feel Loki’s magic drawing itself closer and closer to that hateful <em>something </em>inside of him, wrapping tightly around it, before Tony went completely limp as whatever it was suddenly vanished in a burst of green warmth that flooded every inch of him in reassuring affection and love.</p><p>“There we go, Anthony. You’re safe.” Loki’s fingers were carding through his hair once again as Tony shoved his face against Loki’s neck and <em>breathed</em>. He was alive, they were in his penthouse and the heavy, guilty feeling that had been hanging over him like an executioner’s axe was <em>gone</em>. His hand came up and pressed over Loki’s heart, seeking the beat the signaled life and that fragile, terrified thing inside of him eased.</p><p>Tony dragged in a ragged breath, violently <em>shoved</em> down the panic attack threatening to drag him under as he did everything mentally possible to tether himself to Loki and the safety the god offered by his very existence. The strong, steady beat of Loki’s heart under his hand and the soft sounds of Loki’s breathing did a fantastic job of anchoring him. Part of him was terrified to care so deeply, to depend so much on another after so many failures but it was a small voice. Tony was tired of shouldering everything; the weight of the world was crushing him. Tony wanted the happiness, the <em>future</em>, that Loki promised with every touch, every kiss, every fond smile directed his way.</p><p>“What…was that?” he finally managed after some modicum of emotional control found its way back into his hands. Tony mentally clutched it tightly with no intentions of ever letting go lest he find himself drowning in that horrifying agony again. He couldn’t lose himself to it again, couldn’t risk something worse happening. The fingers against his back clenched. It was impossible to miss the tension, the barely controlled fury, as Loki took a slow, calming breath that clearly did nothing to actually rein his temper in. Tony had little doubt that Loki could level a country with the force of his wrath and it wouldn’t take a fraction of his power to do so.</p><p>“<em>That</em> was malevolent magic, attempting to take root within your very core, being destroyed and its remnants banished.” Loki’s voice shook with emotion, with unchecked rage, “It was magic meant to twist and torture you. Magic meant to play upon your worst fears and insecurities. It had the potential, if stoked and fed, to destroy you from the inside out.”</p><p>Tony closed his eyes. His heart was pounding and Extremis was writhing inside of him with every sharp burst of emotion threatening to overwhelm him. He had thought it was merely a vision. He had thought it was something fleeting that had driven him to take that stupid scepter, that had driven him to let it into his sanctuary and allowed the entity within the Mind Stone to corrupt the barely there framework of Ultron.</p><p>Now that it was gone it was more than obvious it had been something <em>more</em>. Something invasive that had threatened his mind. She hadn’t merely showed him something—that little witch had poisoned his mind and left something behind to fester into something far worse. Tony had wondered, considering the other Avengers reactions, but he hadn’t known—hadn’t imagined what had actually happened.</p><p>“It’s gone?”</p><p>“Completely.” Loki sounded darkly satisfied. “Fortunately it had a very distinct energy. I will have little problem finding its wielder and…<em>removing</em> them.” The tone said plenty about what Loki planned to do when he followed the magic trail back to its owner. There was little question about his god’s intentions. “No one touches what is <em>mine</em>.”</p><p>Tony chuckled, a humorless sound, as he opened his eyes and looked at Loki. The hands on him stroked, soothed and attempted to offer comfort when their owner was clearly entertaining murderous thoughts. They were clearly very, very murderous thoughts considering the fact that Tony could practically feel them in the magic wrapping around him protectively.</p><p>It was amazing how Loki could be careful, mindful and affectionate with every touch even while the god seethed with a need to seek vengeance. Tony was confident in his safety. He wasn’t sure how Loki’s hands could be careful and his eyes full of furious hatred directed at an enemy but somehow the God of Mischief pulled it off and Tony came away without so much as a mark. He doubted this was a side very few had experienced or witnessed for themselves.</p><p>“Look no further than the new Avengers Compound. Its owner is one of the newest Avengers.” Tony tried his best to keep his voice level, the anger he felt suppressed but it was a losing game and rather pointless. “Nominated by Captain America himself and seconded by the recently retired Hawkeye.”</p><p>Loki stared at him.</p><p>“What.” It was flat and said in a way that clearly showed it wasn’t even a question. He wondered what was going on in Loki’s mind to cause that particular tone.</p><p>“Apparently being a homicidal, ex-Hydra witch is completely forgivable if you’re a pretty, doe-eyed ‘kid’. All sins are wiped away. Clean slate. All is forgiven and everything from your mouth is the truth—there couldn’t possibly be anything manipulative or biased being said.” Tony couldn’t keep the bitterness out of his voice now that he didn’t have to wear a mask to hide it. “If you’re a ‘<em>spoiled, egotistical billionaire’</em> it’s obvious you’re guilty and a liar. No trial. No attempts to plead your case. Then it is all smiles and ‘Gosh Tony, I’ll miss you’ when I decide I’m fucking <em>done</em>.”</p><p>Loki looked outraged. It was nice to have another person in his corner. Tony could use more of them if he was honest.</p><p>He sighed. Tony didn’t want to rehash the whole thing. “Here, Lo. See for yourself.” He reached to grab Loki’s wrist and brought the mage’s hand up so it was pressing lightly against his temple. “I trust you. You won’t hurt me.” Tony said the last two sentences softly. He knew how important they were for Loki to hear, how much weight they carried. Cool lips brushed against his forehead, warmth flowing inward and twisting inside of him with Loki’s blessing.</p><p>Tony closed his eyes as Loki focused, this time, on <em>seeing</em> what had happened. To distract himself Tony used Extremis to look at schematics for the newest iteration of a clean energy resource he wanted to use to provide clean water to those in a ridiculous number of countries who went without. Tony’s awareness flitted towards the disaster relief funds he’d been directing to Slovakia and Johannesburg, wanting to cry at the number of confirmed fatalities. Too many had lost their lives and homes.</p><p>He directed more aid, started Jarvis on creating a new Iron Legion that looked <em>nothing</em> like the previous to send along for the heavy lifting and evac. They needed all the help they could get. The damage was horrific and people’s lives were at stake. Tony couldn’t fail them. Not again. He would be on his way to help out as best he could as soon as everything was in place and he received the green light to return. If not, he would continue to direct resources and add more to the new Iron Legion to where they were needed.</p><p>Idly he looked for Bruce, hoping his friend was ok, as he tried to see where the Quinjet wasn’t registering on any network.</p><p>“Anthony?”</p><p>Loki’s voice pulled him back as he blinked and focused on the face inches from him. “Done already, Lo?”</p><p>“They don’t deserve you.” It was said so earnestly that Tony winced and looked over Loki’s shoulder. A hand lightly gripped his face and turned him back. “You were merely a tool used for destruction. It <em>was</em> your hands that took my scepter, that brought it back to your Tower and examined it. However, it <em>was</em> the Mind Stone which wrought the damage. It stole the name of <em>your</em> peacekeeping program, threw it in your face and twisted its existence to sow seeds of discord and chaos in your team. The Mind Stone is a powerful magical object that was able to enslave the mind of a god. There is unfortunately little you could have done to stop it once it started.”</p><p>“Sounds like I fucked up, Lo. My hands, my—”</p><p>“What was your intention when you went into that base?”</p><p>“To remove the scepter from Hydra.”</p><p>“What were you planning on doing with it then? Before you laid eyes upon it?”</p><p>“To send it to Asgard with Thor.”</p><p>“Not to experiment with it?”</p><p>Tony knew what Loki was doing but that didn’t mean it didn’t have something easing inside of him. “No.” he murmured, “We wanted it off planet. It was a temptation too great to leave on Earth. Not with Hydra or shady agencies wanting to create weapons.”</p><p>Loki nodded, satisfied. “Your intentions were honorable; they were those of a leader looking to protect his people. It’s unfortunate that <em>witch</em> sunk poisonous magic inside your mind and twisted your intentions, played upon your fears and sent you spiraling.” The hands on him continued to move softly—it was soothing and calming. Tony leaned forward and rested his forehead against Loki as his arms looped loosely around Loki in a hug. He felt the god draw him in so their hips were slotted together, their bodies entwined, as Tony sought comfort and understanding.</p><p>“They’re never going to see it that way.” Tony murmured against him. “I’m going to have Ultron thrown in my face until the day I die.” His fingers curled in Loki’s tunic, “They’re never going to trust me again. They were all too happy to vote in new members without a single thought about how anyone actually felt about each new addition. I tried to explain <em>why</em> she wasn’t a good idea but I might as well have been talking to a brick wall.”</p><p>Tony knew the word Loki had just muttered was a curse of some kind in another language Tony didn’t know.</p><p>“I tried to get Thor to stay but he wouldn’t. He’s going off on some quest to find Infinity Stones. My science bro is gone to parts unknown and no one else seems to give a fuck. It was easier to just…leave.”</p><p>There was a noticeable pause before, “Come to Asgard. Rule at my side as my Consort.” Loki sounded confident, sounded sure, but Tony could see the barely concealed fear of rejection. He hated seeing it, knowing what he did of Loki’s past. The Golden Apple Loki had pulled from one of his pocket dimensions glinted in the dying sunlight as Tony blinked at it and looked up at Loki. “My guise as Odin is hardly needed anymore, Asgard has accepted my rule, and my brother will be gone on his quest...” Loki trailed off, waiting, as Tony's mind reeled.</p><p>There was a time when it would have been a hard choice, when Tony couldn’t give Loki the answer his lover craved, but that time was long past. It had died a horrific death and Tony couldn’t be bothered to mourn it. He could keep Earth safe, keep those he loved safe, and do something to make himself <em>happy</em>. What was wrong with seeking his own happiness? He reached out and accepted the Apple, fingers curling around it, as relief filled Loki’s green eyes.</p><p>“Ok.”</p><p>It was sealed with a kiss before they vanished from the couch in a flash of green and gold.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I'm not exactly happy with this one which is mostly why I hadn't posted it yet (or worked on making it post worthy). Hopefully someone enjoyed it? As I mentioned above, I'm going to try my best to post a bit more frequently. After Endgame it's like my writing muse was brutally murdered with a single snap (literally).</p><p>For this one I figured I'd fix a few things in AOU, address some others and add Loki to the mix. No smut (though it certainly happens in celebration after Tony eats his Apple) but some hurt/comfort and a dash of angst with a happy ending. I'm a sucker for a happy ending for my favorites. I'm also still salty about AOU and I didn't do a good job hiding it in this one.</p><p>Keep your fingers crossed I can get my writing muse to cooperate. I have been bouncing from idea to idea, never finishing, hoping to get something to stick so I can post again. I'll aim for less salt haha.</p><p>I'd love to know what you thought. Please leave a comment.</p><p> <a href="http://the-winter-writer.tumblr.com">My Tumblr</a></p></blockquote></div></div>
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